In Daniel Miller’s book Tales From Facebook, he shares fifteen different theories and how these theories affect our everyday lives. The first two theories were about being able to make friends through the use of Facebook. Miller says that one is about to go about talking to someone they might not normally talk to because it is easier not having the face to face communication. Being able to ‘banter’ back and forth while being online makes it easier for people to get to know each other and it also lets individuals know that they are both willing to make the relationship work because they are both investing time into the relationship. Miller also points out the Facebook allows individuals to research others before they start communicating with them to see if a friendship is what they want with this individual. Miller states that most people feel awkward in the company of people they barely know, self-conscious about the possible effect of their words and actions (pg. 2).
This is all interesting to me because I still would not want to talk to someone I hardly know on Facebook chat because I would be too worried thinking that they might not respond back. At least in person I am able to see their facial expressions which allow me to judge whether or not they actually want to be talking at that time. This use of Facebook is good for people who do not like to talk about people in person because they will be able to create long lasting friendships. When I first started using Facebook, it was the ‘cool’ thing to have as many friends as possible. That meant going to all my friends sites and friending their friends and even finding random people whom none of my friends knew. While some people still do this, it is not considered to be a Facebook norm anymore and it is hardly done anymore to my knowledge. I have had people I met at events talk to me through Facebook and while I have not been interested in creating a long lasting friendship with most of those people, I have developed a few good friends through Facebook.